FreedomWorks - Joe Bidenhttp://www.freedomworks.org/fieldtags/joe-biden
enThe Ramifications of the Nuclear Option Explained - By Democratshttp://www.freedomworks.org/content/ramifications-nuclear-option-explained-democrats
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>The nuclear option is an abuse of power.&nbsp;</p><p><img src="http://d7.freedomworks.org.s3.amazonaws.com/Senator_Reid_via_AP.png" alt="Senator Harry Reid" title="Senator Harry Reid" width="600" height="379" class="imagecache imagecache-full"><br></p><p>&nbsp;People across the country understand what it means to change the rules in the middle of the game, which is what the nuclear option does. It eliminates the filibuster on judicial nominees, a tradition of the Senate that's been here for over 200 years. &nbsp;</p><p>The Founding Fathers established the filibuster as a means of protecting the minority from the tyranny of the majority. &nbsp;The filibuster is not a scheme and it certainly isn't new. The filibuster is far from a procedural gimmick. It's part of the fabric of the institution we call the Senate.&nbsp;The roots of the filibuster are found in the Constitution. &nbsp;It's within the vision of the founding fathers of our country. They established a government so that no one person and no single party could have total control.</p><p>Now,&nbsp;Democrats want to blow up 200 years of Senate history and change the rules simply because they aren’t getting their way on a handful of radical nominees. &nbsp;The President has come to the majority in the Senate and basically said: Change the rules. Do it the way I want it done.</p><p>They realize that changing the rules and assaulting this constitutional tradition may sound great today when they have the majority, but over the long haul it is not good for the Senate or good for our country.<br></p><p>It also is going to assault a very fundamental principle of checks and balances, which gives to the Senate the last word when it comes to advice and consent of judicial nominees and presidential appointments.</p><p>The nuclear option abandons America's sense of fair play. It is the one thing this country stands for: Not tilting the playing field on the side of those who control and own the field.&nbsp;</p><p>Right now we are faced with rising gas prices, skyrocketing tuition costs, a record number of uninsured Americans, and some of the most serious national security threats we have ever had. &nbsp;But if the right of free and open debate is taken away from the minority party,&nbsp;the partisan atmosphere in Washington will be poisoned to the point where no one will be able to agree on anything.</p><p>Make no mistake, this nuclear option is ultimately an example of the arrogance of power. &nbsp;It is a fundamental power grab by the majority party,&nbsp;designed to change the reading of the Constitution. &nbsp;It is nothing more or nothing less. &nbsp;</p><p>Isn't what is really going on here that the majority does not want to hear what others have to say, even if it is the truth?</p><p>We owe the people more than that. We owe them much more.</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/rustyweiss74"><em>Follow Rusty @rustyweiss74</em></a><br></p><p><strong>Note: &nbsp;The entirety of this post (minus a few very minor adjustments for proper tense and context) has been written using actual quotes from prominent Democrats regarding the nuclear option for killing the filibuster. &nbsp;In 2005. &nbsp;When the President's last name was Bush.</strong></p><p><strong>The fact that a Republican was in the White House at the time has certainly changed the tune for such individuals as Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Harry Reid, Joe Biden, and Dick Durbin.</strong></p><p><strong>Their hypocrisy is best illustrated using their own words.</strong></p><p>All of these quotes can be found in the links below, listed in no particular order.</p><p class="pageTitle span-9"><a href="http://www.politicalaffairs.net/opposition-to-the-nuclear-option-grows/">Opposition to the 'Nuclear Option' Grows</a></p><p id="watch-headline-title" class="yt"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAotKsLjBFI&amp;feature=youtu.be">Obama: Oppose Nuclear Option, Protect "Free And Democratic Debate"</a></p><p id="watch-headline-title" class="yt"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q6aqw_SfU0&amp;feature=youtu.be">Obama: Nuclear Option Not What Founders Had In Mind, Will Poison Washington</a></p><p class="mb min entry-title"><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2005/may/9/20050509-113025-1569r/">Bush raps judicial filibuster</a></p><p id="watch-headline-title" class="yt"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gagk1ZZVS_k&amp;feature=youtu.be">Biden: Nuclear Option Vote The "Single Most Significant ... In My 32 Years In The Senate"</a></p><p id="watch-headline-title" class="yt"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xws3jn0h_cU&amp;feature=youtu.be">Biden: "I Pray God" Democrats Never Use Nuclear Option</a></p><p><a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/jan-june05/judges_4-25.html">Majority Leader Bill Frist Threatens to Change Senate Filibuster Rules</a></p><p id="watch-headline-title" class="yt"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi70-wzRYrI">Harry Reid: Filibuster Part Of Fabric Of Senate, Meant To Be Used For Executive Nominees</a></p><p id="watch-headline-title" class="yt"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga91DDZxNng">Harry Reid: Eliminating Filibuster Would Discard Two Centuries Of Senate History</a></p><p><a href="http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/02/obama_was_for_the_filibuster_i.html">Obama was for the filibuster in 2005</a></p><p id="watch-headline-title" class="yt"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvLGZReSTDA">Clinton: If President Can't Get 60 Votes For Nominee, Should Rethink Nominee</a></p><p class="yt">&nbsp;</p><p class="yt">Photo credit: AP</p></div></div></div>Fri, 22 Nov 2013 03:35:11 +0000grusbf558106 at http://www.freedomworks.orghttp://www.freedomworks.org/content/ramifications-nuclear-option-explained-democrats#commentsVP SmackDown!http://www.freedomworks.org/content/vp-smackdown
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><img src="http://d7.freedomworks.org.s3.amazonaws.com/wwe-smackdown-logo.jpg" alt="VP SmackDown" title="VP SmackDown" width="600" height="216" class="imagecache imagecache-full"></p><p>This evening, the debate we’ve all been waiting for will finally begin. &nbsp;Not traditionally a debate most Americans focus on, the lone Vice Presidential debate has become more of a focus this year due to the President’s poor performance in the only debate thus far. &nbsp;The Vice Presidential candidates have been relatively secluded the last week, both working overtime to study for tonight’s debate.</p><p>Vice President Joe Biden has been at the Sheraton Hotel in Wilmington, Delaware battling it out with&nbsp;Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, who is standing in for Paul Ryan. &nbsp;Van Hollen, the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee,&nbsp;<a href="http://thehill.com/video/campaign/261197-van-hollen-calls-ryan-qextremeq-quncompromisingq-ahead-of-biden-debate" target="_blank">reportedly</a>&nbsp;referred to Ryan as “extreme” and “uncompromising” in a new ad by the Obama campaign. &nbsp;A picture released today by&nbsp;<a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/11/cnn-exclusive-biden-debate-prep-photo/" target="_blank">CNN</a>&nbsp;shows the lengths the campaign has gone to recreate the scene that will take place tonight, all the way down to the carpeting.</p><p><img src="http://d7.freedomworks.org.s3.amazonaws.com/Screen_Shot_2012-10-11_at_2.39.49_PM.png" alt="Joe Biden Debate Prep" title="Joe Biden Debate Prep" class="imagecache imagecache-full"></p><p>For his part, Paul Ryan has been working double-duty being on the campaign trail with Romney as well as prepping for the debate. &nbsp;Ted Olson, lawyer and former Solicitor General, has been assisting Ryan playing the role of Biden. &nbsp;While Ryan has admitted that Biden has extensive experience in the area of debate, he&nbsp;<a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/10/ryan-talks-debate-prep-over-ice-cream/" target="_blank">stated</a>&nbsp;that Biden’s “Achilles heel” is that he has President Obama’s record.</p><p>Debate topics will cover domestic and foreign policy and will be&nbsp;divided into 9 segments of 10 minutes each. &nbsp;While domestic issues have been on the forefront of the American public’s minds, the mishandling by the administration of the recent attack in Libya coupled with a growing anti-American sentiment worldwide may be a topic that will come into prominence this evening. &nbsp;Biden is considered an expert in foreign policy, however, the Libyan issue may not be one he’ll want to discuss. &nbsp;Additionally his favorability rating is only at 39%, meaning Biden isn’t currently in a good position with the public to win them over for Obama.</p><p>The debate will air at 9pm ET and will be moderated by&nbsp;senior foreign affairs correspondent for ABC&nbsp;News, Martha Raddatz.</p></div></div></div>Thu, 11 Oct 2012 20:57:48 +0000breeanneh55657 at http://www.freedomworks.orghttp://www.freedomworks.org/content/vp-smackdown#commentsJoe Biden: The Gift that Keeps on Givinghttp://www.freedomworks.org/content/joe-biden-gift-keeps-giving
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p class="MsoNormal">In case you were busy recovering from a long weekend of fireworks and hotdogs, you might have missed a rather dubious interview featuring Vice President Joe Biden this Sunday.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">When asked by ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent and “This Week” host George Stephanopoulos about the administration’s role in the deteriorating U.S. economy, Mr. Biden <a href="http://blogs.abcnews.com/george/2009/07/biden-we-misread-the-economy-.html">reportedly</a> came up lame:</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"> “The truth is, we and everyone else misread the economy."</p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">But, truth is, everyone else <a href="/blog/bstein80/ron-paul-stimulus-for-who">did not misread</a> the economy. Instead of continuing to blame the Bush administration for the financial fallout, a closer look at the <a href="/crisis">history</a> of the roots of the 2008 crisis and ensuing recession would have served Mr. Biden and his economic advisors well.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">And, truth is, the stimulus has not worked, even marginally. The ever-growing bailouts and government takeovers will haunt the economy for the long-term. But, true to form, Mr. Biden and his team refused to rule out further stimulus packages in the coming future—a sure sign that the administration truly has misread the economy.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Stephanopoulos commented:</p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal">I pressed the vice president, who is also leading the administration's middle-class task force, on whether he'd rule out a second stimulus package.</p><p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">"So, no second stimulus?" I asked.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">"No, I didn't say that," Biden said, "I think it's premature to make that judgment. This was set up to spend out over 18 months. There are going to be major programs that are going to take effect in September, $7.5 billion for broadband, new money for high-speed rail, the implementation of the grid -- the new electric grid. And so this is just starting, the pace of the ball is now going to increase."</p></p></blockquote><p><p> </p><p>Hmmm. A $7.5 billion quote for broadband equaling less than one percent of the $780 stimulus? No wonder the Chinese <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124398801277079489.html">scoffed</a> at Treasury Secretary Geithner while on his “fiscal sustainability” tour.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Back in <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/05/obama.stimulus/index.html">February</a> President Obama sat before fellow Democrats and hounded his predecessor’s economic policies:</p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"> “Don't come to the table with the same tired arguments and worn ideas that helped to create this crisis. We're not going to get relief by turning back to the very same policies that, for the last eight years, doubled the national debt and threw our economy into a tailspin.”</p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Yet under the new administration our national debt has experienced an astronomical and unprecedented jump of just under $3 trillion in less than six months. It now stands at well over $11 trillion. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Obama budget would more than double our national debt by 2019 and cause the debt-to-GDP ratio to rise to 82% in the same time period. And guess who’s going to pay for government’s fiscal irresponsibility? Generations upon generations of taxpaying Americans; our children and our children’s children.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">So let’s get this straight. Mr. Obama is on record bashing his predecessor’s spending policies, while at the same time more than doubling them? </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">In <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/20101.html">March</a> the Vice President, echoing the White House message that the budget will help fuel a recovery, added: “This is not about ideology.”</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">But it has everything to do with ideology. Stimulus packages that boost big government at the expense of private enterprise such as the one championed by the Obama administration are <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/feb/04/cbo-obama-stimulus-harmful-over-long-haul/">not necessary</a>. It’s the classic example of government overstepping its bounds in response to a crisis; a rallying call for big government advocates. What has it left us? An unemployment rate that has amassed 9.5% and aims to hit double digits before years end. A far cry from the administration’s projection of 8% peak. But, according to Biden, “<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/14/biden-says-guessed-wrong-unemployment-numbers/">everyone guessed wrong</a>” on unemployment numbers, too. Catching the rift? </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">The Obama administration came to office by demonizing eight years of “misguided policy.” Now, six months of Obamanomics has left us further in debt with no end in sight. </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">The show (and excuses) cannot go on.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Truth is, Messrs. Obama and Biden have beaten us around the bush for six months running. “Everyone” did not guess wrong. They did. It wasn’t “everyone’s” plan. It was theirs. It’s time they own up to it.</p></p></div></div></div>Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:20:14 +0000admin53877 at http://www.freedomworks.orghttp://www.freedomworks.org/content/joe-biden-gift-keeps-giving#comments